The present invention relates to installation tools for setting pull type fasteners. A general example of such an installation tool is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,000 issued Jul. 4, 1967 to Schwab et al for Swaging Tool. See also the U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,292 issued Oct. 23, 1990 to Kaelin et al for "Shock Absorbing Fluid Actuated Pressure System". Such tools include nose assemblies, examples of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,806 issued Oct. 22, 1963 to Van Hecke et al for "Modified Nose Assembly", and U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,728, issued Sep. 7, 1982 to Smith for "Apparatus And System For Setting Fasteners".
As can be seen, these installation tools and related nose assemblies are utilized in conjunction with a hydraulic and/or pneumatic power source for installing multi-pieced fasteners by applying a relative axial pulling force, for example, between a pin or mandrel and a collar or sleeve. Examples of lockbolts or swage type fasteners employing a pin and collar and adapted to be set with a relative axial pulling force are shown in the '728 Smith patent, supra, U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,518, issued Apr. 13, 1992 to Dixon for "Dish Compensating Flush Head Fastener", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,852, issued Feb. 25, 1992 to Dixon for "High Strength Fastener And Method". Examples of blind type fasteners employing a pin and a sleeve and adapted to be set by a relative axial pulling force are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,775 issued Dec. 9, 1986 to Dixon for "Blind Fastener With Grip Compensating Means", U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,673, issued Jul. 4, 1989 to Kendall for "Lock Spindle Blind Bolt With Lock Collar Providing Pin Stop Support" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,325, issued Sep. 5, 1989 to Smith for "Two Piece Blind Fastener With Lock Spindle Construction". With both the lockbolt and blind type fasteners, the pin has an elongated shank provided with a pintail or pull portion having a plurality of pull grooves adapted to be gripped by a plurality of chuck jaws in the nose assembly. In the deactuated condition, the chuck jaws will be normally held open to facilitate insertion of the pintail portion into the aperture defined by the opened chuck jaws as well as ejection after the fastener has been set. During actuation with the pintail portion located in the nose assembly, the chuck jaws will be moved to a closed condition for engagement with the pull grooves whereby the pull grooves will be gripped by the chuck jaws.
An anvil member is adapted to engage the collar or sleeve, depending upon the type of fastener, and, upon actuation of the tool and with the chuck jaws gripping the pintail portion of the pin shank, as noted, a relative axial pulling force is then applied between the collar or sleeve and pin of the fastener by way of the relative axial force between the chuck jaws and the anvil. Typically the pin or mandrel is provided with a weakened portion or breakneck groove which is located on the pin shank between the pull or pintail portion and the remainder of the shank and is adapted to fracture at a preselected axial load, i.e. pin break load, after the fastener has been set. This results in an installed fastener having a generally flush and/or compact structure with minimal or no pintail protrusion. In certain tools the severed pintail portion is ejected rearwardly out through the back end of the tool; see for example the patents to Schwab et al, and to Kaelin et al, supra.
The magnitude of the pin break load required to fracture the breakneck groove, however, can result in the generation of a reaction load of significant magnitude. The magnitude of pin break load can be especially high with swage type fasteners since the breakneck groove must be of sufficient strength to withstand the high installation loads required for the anvil to swage the collar onto the pin. As a result, in hand held installation tools employing a construction for pass through or rearward ejection, the severed pintail portion could be ejected with a considerable force in the direction of the operator. As a result it has been a common practice with such tools to utilize a pintail deflector made of an elastomeric material to absorb some of the force of the pintail portion and to deflect the pintail portion away from the operator; see Schwab et al and Kaelin et al patents, supra.
In the present invention, a unique pintail deflector construction is provided which provides the deflecting function while enhancing the life of the deflector; in addition the construction permits selection by the operator of the direction of final ejection.
As noted such installation tools include a nose assembly which is separately, removably secured to a power cylinder. The nose assembly includes an anvil member and a collet assembly slidably supported therein. The collet assembly, which includes the chuck jaws, is adapted to be secured to the rod portion of a power piston. In the present invention a unique, simplified attachment construction is provided for removably securing the collet assembly to the piston rod portion.
In addition, for hand held tools, a handle assembly is provided which frequently is a separate assembly adapted to be removably secured to a piston housing. In such structures the handle assembly includes a handle having fluid passageways for carrying hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic pressure source to and from the cylinder housing for actuation of the power piston. While the use of a separate handle facilitates the formation of the passageways during manufacture, it also requires extra assembly steps and the provision of specially constructed hydraulic seals to seal between the passageways in the handle and those operatively related passageways in the cylinder housing. In the present invention a simplified construction is provided whereby the handle and cylinder housing can be a unitary construction and the need for such extra assembly steps and specially constructed hydraulic seals is obviated.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a unique construction for an installation tool including an improved pintail deflector, nose assembly attachment and overall housing construction.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.